Frank Mir insists focus solely on Cheick Kongo as UFC 107 approaches

Much has been made of UFC heavyweight Frank Mir’s (12-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) recent revelation that Brock Lesnar was the one providing him with the motivation to hit the gym.

And with Lesnar on the sidelines indefinitely, many have pointed to Mir’s UFC 107 contest with Cheick Kongo (14-5-1 MMA, 7-3 UFC) as a potential “trap fight” – a spot in which a lack of focus may cost the former champ a win he should have otherwise earned.

But always one to focus on the mental side of the game, Mir recently told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) nothing could be further from the truth.

“The last couple weeks, everything has just been focused on Cheick now, just on what I have to in that fight. In every fight, I’m the one that’s the constant factor for me. You’re always training yourself and trying to prepare yourself to be a better fighter.

“Obviously, I had to address that issue (of looking past Kongo). But I think I’ve done a good job in training of being focused. It’s not like I’m pulling off maneuvers in training that are tailored toward Brock. I know who I’m fighting, and I’m respecting what he can do and his abilities. I haven’t chose to train with wrestlers. I’ve been training with kickboxers.”

While Mir has been openly critical of Kongo’s ground skills, he stopped short of calling the French striker one-dimensional. However, he did question how much Kongo was working toward developing a truly complete attack.

“I think Kongo’s well-rounded,” Mir said. “Obviously, his strengths are going to be his standup. I just think that Kongo falls into the mental pothole of when you’re good at something, it’s hard to be humble and do other things. I get that to a point, but I think that hurts a lot of fighters out there.

“Sometimes you see fighters that are very proficient in one or two aspects of the game. Say they’re a phenomenal wrestler. They don’t want to go in there with an amateur boxer and train boxing and get their face punched in. Everybody’s watching going, ‘What’s going on here?’ They don’t like to step out of their element. I kind of think sometimes Kongo might fall into that.”

It’s a simple analysis. Kongo’s striking is better than Mir’s, while the opposite holds on the ground. The one variable – especially after Mir’s December 2008 dismantling of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira – is whether the always-confident 30-year-old will try and prove a point by standing with Kongo or immediately look for a takedown.

Mir said the answer is simple: neither.

“Any time you go in with a gameplan, you kind of close off your mind to different opportunities, and you leave yourself open for a surprise,” Mir said. “Honestly, when I first walk in for the first few seconds, I’m just looking at [my opponent] and what he’s trying to do. You feel out your opponent, and you go from there.

“Obviously, I know what he has tendencies to do. We train for those things and we look for them in practice. But at the same time, you kind of have to almost throw that out the window when you step into the octagon because again, you go out there, and all of a sudden he shoots and takes you down, and you’re like, ‘Ah, I didn’t expect that.’ That’s because you were looking for something else. But if you’re looking for everything, then you’re really not surprised easily.”

Of course, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt isn’t exactly viewing Kongo as an equal on the floor.

“Some of the mistakes and stuff makes on the ground – his body and stuff – he just basically scrambles to get back up to his feet,” Mir said. “Really, honestly, if I had to sit there and go, ‘OK, there’s 10 guys that might arm-bar you. Where is he on that list?’ I’d be like, ‘Dead last.’

“The only thing I do give him credit for is he’s actually very good at ground and pound.

One thing that is certain for Saturday’s fight: When Mir steps into the cage, he’ll be stronger than ever before. The physical transformation engineered by seven-time World’s Strongest Man participant Mark Philippi in recent months has left Mir considerably more muscular than in his previous contests.

But while Mir will come in heavier – in a good way – than he has in recent contests, he says his focus hasn’t been just on bulking up.

“When I first went in to train with Mark Phillipi, I was really obsessed with the size issue,” Mir said. “But then he kind of – thankfully, because he is such an intelligent strength and conditioning coach – was like, ‘It’s more important to be stronger than it is bigger.’ So that’s one thing we’ve worked on in strength training. The good thing is I actually really enjoy it.

“I always hated going to the gym before because at the athletic club you’d see this guy sitting there, bench-pressing, curling, and he’s wearing the little wife-beater. I’m like, ‘Not my cup of tea.’ But there, it’s cool because there’s 500 pounds on the ground, and you’ve got to pick it up. ‘Oh, really. That’s interesting. How do you do it?’ Well, you got your hips this way and this way, and now there’s a science behind it.”

Question marks surround both Mir and Kongo in the hours leading up to their UFC 107 main-card contest. But if you listen to Mir, he says the importance of this fight toward his ultimate goal means he’ll be ready to do what it takes to win.

“Obviously, at this point, coming off of a loss, not that it’s the end of your career to have two losses in a row, but that is not a good thing,” Mir said. “My concern is to get a win. Not that I’m going to go out there and fight scared, but at the same time, I’m not really thinking about what I have to prove or where [a win] puts me. That’s too much thought into the future because those factors really aren’t in my control anyway.

“I’m going to go out there, fight a smart fight, be safe, and take my opponent out as soon as I can.”

For complete coverage of UFC 107, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.